Masquerade
by HoneyMushrooms
Summary: How can I fall in love with someone who doesn’t even exist? Suze has just come back from a short trip away from home, away from the ocean, away from Jesse. And who's the mysterious masked stalker, vowing to kill Suze? NEW CHAPTER UP! Set in Darkest Hour.
1. Chapter 1

**Masquerade: **

**_Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns all the characters, not me, only the plot:)_**

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**Chapter One:**

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I hated flying.

What made it worse was that I was flying in economy class for more than an hour.

And what made it almost unbearable was that the fat man sitting next to me was asleep, drooling with his mouth open; his head lolling to one side, dangerously close to my hair.

If that didn't send me frantically squashing up as far to the window side as possible, his butt cheek certainly did, which was protruding out, monopolizing half of my own seat. I could even see the cellulite marks on his hairy thigh-yes he was in shorts.

Excuse me but, EW!

I was busting to go to the toilet, but for obvious reasons, my hopes were denied. I couldn't help eyeing the last bit of water in my drink bottle which was swishing around, making things worse.

Only a little longer I reminded myself for the umpteenth time.

Ever since I left, I'd been thinking about Jesse-not that I wanted to, I mean, that's the reason I went back to New York for summer break-to get my mind off things.

It was all _his _fault, why did he have to die in my room in the first place! Why hasn't he moved on to wherever ghosts are supposed to go after they die? And _why_ does he have to be so _hot? _I'd missed him so much though-even his annoying Spanish accent and his stupid cat Spike, and his nice, dark eyes-

"Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts, we will be arriving in exactly 10 minutes. Thank you."

The plane suddenly swooped down, causing my already upset bladder to fly through the roof. The fat man stopped snoring and sat up (thank god).

The plane eventually made its way down for landing. I grabbed my black leather jacket, my water bottle and my bag and got ready to dive out of the hell hole and find the nearest bathroom.

When the pilot finally declared it was 'safe' to move around I jumped up and climbed, with much difficulty, over the fat man, who was engrossed in trying to untangle his headphones from his sweaty, balding head (god I hope they don't reuse those).

"Watch it, and have some respect you adolescent-"

"Shut-up Pavarotti!" I snapped and pushed my way past the queues to the arrivals gate. I wasn't in the mood for chivalry-I just needed a bathroom!

Finally I was out in the open; there were hardly any people since it was quite late at night. I breathed a sigh of relief-there was a bathroom; it looked so clean, so inviting, so-OUT OF ORDER. Great, just great.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, and a deep, crackly voice whispered in my ear.

"Hey pretty lady, how about you and me-"

Perfect-just what I needed!

I swallowed hard. I was trapped in a corner-but I was sure I could outrun him. I lifted my bag and thwacked him hard where it hurts. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"Why you little-"

Now was my chance, I ran forward towards the escalator, dodging his attempts to grab me by the ankles. I glanced back and saw him stumble to his feet and stagger away. In my desperate endeavors to perceive his progress, I didn't watch where I was going and bashed headlong into something hard and rough. I fell backwards and remembered a searing pain on my forehead, before I blacked out…

"_Nombre de Dios_" said a concerned voice I recognized.

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****A/N: A next (much longer) chapter will be out tomorrow! (Sooner if demanded).**

**I hope you enjoyed! This is my first ever Fanfic, so I don't know if that chapter was too long, too short…too boring? PLEASE review, critics are welcome :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

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I don't know how long I'd been lying there, but I felt myself being shaken gently. I opened my eyes and squinted-it was really dark and blurry and my head REALLY hurt! Those eyes were staring me in the face, those same ones which haunted me day and night.

"Jesse…" I mumbled. His eyes blinked and he sighed with relief.

"_Querida _what happened?" he demanded, sounding annoyed, "Your parents have been looking everywhere for you! They thought you missed your flight."

I lifted my head up and looked up at him. What was he doing blaming _me_ when it was all that stupid poles' fault.

"Well, I was rushing to…be first out and…I tripped," I said, pointing to my head. Jeez, I wasn't gonna to tell _him_ that some sicko dude was sexually harassing me.

"Susannah-" he said disbelievingly.

"Jesse, I need to go to the bathroom."

That would surely get him off my case. He hesitated then nodded and started helping me up. I must admit, it was nice to have Jesse come to my rescue-not that I couldn't have totally handled it brilliantly myself-I do have the tendency to give assholes permanent 'scars' when I want to.

He had his arm round my waist and was walking me slowly towards an escalator. His chest felt really warm and I felt…safe…is it possible for ghosts to smell so good?

I should walk into poles more often!

"SUZE!" said a little voice in my head. "STOP IT, he's a flippin' ghost for crying out loud! He doesn't even _like_ you; he's just staying in your room, because he _died_ there!"

"We'll need to do something about your head," he said anxiously. "It's bleeding quite freely now."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll get it cleared up in the bathroom."

When we finally arrived at a toilet, I practically ran inside, ignoring Jesse's offers to come inside and help me fix my head wound. Obviously they never distinguished between little girl and little boy rooms in his day.

After I went, I briefly washed the blood off my face and got some loo paper to staunch the flow. I didn't want Jesse to make any fuss about it-it was just a graze! I'm not a wuss or anything!

I came back out and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

WHY does he have to do that all the time!

Just stand there gazing at me with that secretive smile on his face-as if he knew something I didn't!

"_Querida_, you should get back, your parents will be very worried."

What was he doing here anyway? We started walking out of the airport-I didn't have any baggage-everything I needed was in my carry-on.

"I do not know what they will say about your head…" he went on.

It's not like he even CARES about me…

"You should go back in one of those '_taxis,'_ it is too far to walk…"

I guess he has nothing better to do.

"Jesse…" I said frowning.

"What is it, _Querida_?"

"It doesn't matter…"

"What does not matter?"

There was a taxi waiting right outside the entrance. How convenient.

"Nothing…" I replied and climbed in. But I had to know.

"Jesse, why-"

But he had gone.

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****A/N: ****Waaaaaaaaaah! How was that? I know I said this chapter would be longer, so the next one will be twice as long. Promise :) **

**REVIEW PLZ! Next chapter will be out soon! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

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When I got out of the taxi it started raining. And my wonderfully shiny and perfect hair went flat. I wasn't at all looking forward to going in there and explaining that I "accidentally bumped my head on a pole." 

_JUST TELL THE TRUTH!_ Said that annoying little voice in my head again.

_Yeah_. Like that would go well:

"_Hey mom, some jerk tried to screw me yesterday, so I kicked him in the nuts, crashed into a pole and blacked out." _

And how the hell was I supposed to explain to her that some hot Latino _ghost_ just happened to help me on my way? Who by the way, lives in my BEDROOM!

Perhaps I could sneak in, and live there like normal-maybe no once will notice…

I breathed out and quietly opened the front door-which turned out to be not as inconspicuous as I hoped since the slower I opened the door, the louder the creaking became.

"Suze, is that you?" came a voice from the kitchen. In my last-moment-desperation attempts to hide my 'graze' I grabbed the nearest hat on the coat rack and yanked it over my wet head.

I saw the stairs. They were just a few steps away. Could I make it?

I had to try. I lunged forward and tripped on the mat, grappling for the handrail; I steadied myself and stumbled on. Three steps, two steps, one…

"Susannah!" My mom came into the foyer carrying a tea towel and a fry pan.

"There you are!" she said advancing on me. "Why didn't you tell me you were here, I thought you missed your flight, and I was gonna call you, but I couldn't get to your cell." She stopped and gave me a suffocating hug. "How did everything go? How was Gina? Did you have fun?"

"It was fine mom-actually I'm a bit tired, do you think I could just go to bed early today?"

"Of course you can sweetheart!" She smiled and bustled away.

The fact was I wasn't the least bit tired. I dragged myself up to my room and closed the door-thank god _that_ was over. It was only 6:30. I threw my bag on the floor and flung myself face down on my bed, groaning into the pillow.

It was pouring with rain and there was a cold draught coming in. It was only a moment before I sensed Jesse's presence; he came in quietly through my open window before closing it and sitting on my bed.

"Is everything alright Querida?" he asked softly.

I nodded into my pillow.

"Have you ever been for a walk in the rain?" he said suddenly, smiling. I looked at him. This was very…rash for Jesse.

"No." I answered bluntly, shaking my head.

"Come-on then," he said holding his hand out. "It is quite incredible-all your troubles will wash away. I hesitated for a moment, but with his hand outstretched and a mysterious smile on his face, I couldn't resist.

"Jesse…" I said puzzled. "Is everything alright with _you_?"

"Why wouldn't it be Susannah?"

I couldn't stop a mystified smile from creeping onto my face. I grabbed my jacket and we started climbing down the trellis out my window.

The rain wasn't cold. The droplets were actually quite warm. We walked right down to the beach, where massive waves were cascading up and down the shore. Thunder boomed and rumbled from above and faint lighting forks were visible out at sea. I felt so vulnerable, in the middle of a storm-yet safe…because I was with Jesse I guess. He was right-this really did feel good!

"Can you actually feel the rain drops?" I asked him.

"Of course I can," he replied. "Ghosts can feel a lot of things…anger, fear, sadness, love…" he trailed off. There was an awkward silence and we continued wandering across the sand. So much for my hair. It was SOAKING, plastered flat to my scalp-I probably looked a sight.

Jesse stopped all of a sudden, looking grim. He swiftly gripped my elbow and began to lead me forward.

"Don't look now, but there's someone following us."

"Wha-" I immediately turned my head and glanced behind me. Why would anyone be stupid enough to go for a walk in a storm like this? Well…um…apart from Jesse and me... There was a figure hooded in black (wow, how original) walking briskly towards us. He…or she was clearly following our trail of footprints left in the sand. I gasped.

"Jesse who _is_ that?"

"I do not know Susannah," he replied. "But I don't like the look of them. Quick, in here." He pulled me into a grass bush leading to a path away from the beach. "Get ready to run, as soon as we are out of his sight." We stumbled out of the grass and made our way up the narrow gravel path.

"Now Susannah!" Jesse started dragging me (gently) down the track. I know we weren't far from my house, but it was hard to see where I actually was let alone which direction I was being hauled in. Surely Jesse knew where we were going-he knew this place like the back of his hand-well, he has been living here for the past century or so. Besides, I trusted him.

"Querida, I think we are lost."

"Well at least we're out of that psychopath's way," I said optimistically. "I don't think he'll even think to find us here-"

"I am sorry Querida," Jesse said quietly, his gaze downcast. "I didn't mean to ruin this for you-I just thought…"

"Come on Jesse," I said gently. "It's not that bad." And it wasn't really to be honest. Getting lost in a storm after being chased by some weirdo with Jesse was something I only dreamed about.

"Look," I said, "Why don't you fly up and see where we are-see if you can find the house from here and then-"

"I'm not going anywhere without you Querida," he said sternly. "Not with that man on our trail."

"Hey, I can protect myself!" I said defensively.

"I will not leave you here alone!" he said stubbornly.

"Take me with you then," I said shortly. I know it was risky, what would Father Dominic say if he heard that there had been sightings of a floating girl in the rain? But hey, it was my only choice, right?

Jesse seemed to have read my mind.

"Father Dominic would not approve if-"

"Come on Jesse, it's our only option, no one will notice us in this storm anyway."

He wrapped his arm around my waist and picked me up effortlessly.

"Hold on," he said.

Flying soaking wet through the sky at night with rain pouring down wouldn't seem to be the most wonderful of experiences but I have to say, I felt like Mary-Jane in Spiderman, except of course that I was instead being carried by a ghost whom I…am totally in love with. There, I admitted it.

_You are sad._ The voice in my head said unnecessarily. Too right.

_How can I fall in love with someone who doesn't even exist!_

"We are here Susannah," Jesse said, putting me down outside our house on the lawn. His hand was still around my waist.

"Thank-you," I said earnestly, looking up into his dark, dark brown eyes. He stared back, silently.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would give me away if he were to hear it. He pulled away abruptly, his voice shaking slightly. "Goodnight Querida," and he dematerialized.

I stood there for a while, the rain pouring down my nose, over my eyelashes and cheeks, before climbing back up the trellis outside my room.

I fell onto the window seat, soaked right through and dripping water everywhere.

"Alright," said my mother furiously. "Where the hell have you been?"

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**A/N: See, I told you this one would be longer:) I was a bit unsure about the Jesse/Suze flying part...can Jesse fly? Oh well, sry about that guys. ANYway, hopefullyChapter 4 will be out very soon! PLZ REVIEW so I'll know if you liked it and if this story is worthy enough to be continued!**

**Luv**

**HoneyMushrooms**


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